Fears ABC comedy will ‘play it safe’
Industry voices are concerned The Chaser incident will see ABC comedy taking less risks, but the network says no.
- Published by David Knox
- on
- Filed under News
“I don’t think Duthie should have been sacked or the show suspended,” Mal Hewitt, president of the NSW Friends of the ABC, said. “There’s a danger that a decision like this will take the edge off ABC’s comedy programs.”
His comments follow ABC executive Amanda Duthie being stripped of her Comedy responsibilities following the furore over The Chaser’s “Make a Realistic Wish” sketch. Duthie retains her Arts & Entertainment duties.
David Risstrom from Friends of the ABC agrees with his NSW counterpart, this week writing, “Satire and black humour are an essential element of free speech in a democracy. They disturb our complacency and pillory hypocrisy and cant. The line between acceptable satire and offending reasonable community standards is sometimes not obvious until it is crossed. How far is too far? Who is it not acceptable to offend? When is offence real harm?
“The Chaser‘s young producers will have learnt from the community’s response to their ‘Make a Realistic Wish Foundation’ sketch. The proverbial sledge-hammer was not required. The danger now is that the ABC will not take risks in comedy. Bland programming will result and free speech will be jeopardised.”
SBS director of TV and online content, Matt Campbell, who also hinted that he would have handled the situation differently adds that it “could perhaps signal a more cautious approach from the ABC.”
“You need to make that kind of stuff, otherwise you get only the most bland, mediocre kind of comedy, the Two And A Half Men kind of stuff,” Trent O’Donnell, co-creator of The Review With Miles Barlow, said.
But Courtney Gibson, the ABC’s executive head of content creation, has sought to allay fears, saying, “ABC TV will continue to support the most provocative comedy projects and risk-taking practitioners in Australia.”
Gibson is senior executive to Amanda Duthie, who would have been consulted had the matter been referred upwards under the ABC Editorial guidelines.
The show returns to screen next week.
Source: Sydney Morning Herald
9 Responses
ABC are indeed setting an ugly precedent by giving into the wowsers, most of whom don’t even watch the show.
I don’t think that SBS can really take the moral high ground here. They have a long history of self censorship, which was most recently demonstrated through their refusal to broadcast the second half of a two-part episode of Swift and Shift Couriers (and both parts during the repeat screening). Then there’s the Bloody Mary episode of South Park, which (correct me if I’m wrong) still hasn’t been aired after what – three or four years, following its broadcast been “deferred”.
The simple = the funnier if you ask me!!!
Oh i realised a TV week period (Sun-Sat) is different to a normal week (Mon-Sun).
I thought it returned on the 24th?
As media watch also aptly put it – if you take a show off for 2 weeks because a minority were highly offended, eventually you get the content creators and executives playing it safe just in case some minority may take offense. If the chaser played it safe for every single gag, they would stop being funny. Same goes for every comedy act.
The show actually returns next week. Tracey Ullman’s State Of The Union is airing 9pm Wednesday
Travis that was noted in the final sentence?
Play it safe? Play it bland more like it. I saw the first episode of The Chasers” and that convinced me that you there is a 90% crap and 10 % gems. Most of their skits were peril and more embarrassing that funny. However that is the thing about comedy – everyone has a different sense of humor.
Nice little dig at 2.5 Men by Trent O’Donnell. Totally agree with Mal Hewitt.